Here's to the first virtual Executive Meetup that was a success with main speaker Ziad Daoud and YAL Board Member Huda Al Lawati moderating the session taking us through the challenges facing the economy in the region post COVID-19 and predictions for a post-oil economy. They also talked about the challenges and solutions for economic growth in the region.

Executive Meetup is a series of informal discussions hosted by prominent industry leaders, organized by Young Arab Leaders, to encourage knowledge exchange between its exclusive members to share insights and what the future holds for certain industries.   About the Speaker Ziad Daoud is the Chief Emerging Markets Economist for Bloomberg Economics. Prior to joining Bloomberg in September 2017, he was the Head of Economics at QNB Group, leading a team to produce analysis on the Middle East as well as the global economy. Previously, he worked as an Economist at Fulcrum Asset Management where his research focused on the interaction between the macroeconomy and financial markets. He holds a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics and a BSc in Economics and statistics from University College London.   About the Moderator Huda’s career has spanned 18 years in private equity and investments across emerging markets. As Partner at Gateway Partners Group, she is a member of the Investment Committee and leads deal origination, execution and portfolio management in the Middle East and Africa regions. Prior to Gateway, Miss Al Lawati was Chief Investment Officer for Savola Group, one of the largest publicly-listed strategic investment holding groups for food & retail businesses in the Middle East and North Africa region. At Savola, where she was responsible for business and investment strategy, portfolio management, M&A and investor relations. She built a professional investment team; led restructuring efforts for ailing subsidiaries; initiated digitization programs; instituted capital allocation, portfolio management, investor relations and M&A processes; and completed M&A and disposal transactions of US$ 500m. Prior to Savola, Huda was a Partner and Chief Investment Officer for MENA at the Abraaj Group, where she deployed over $1 billion in equity capital into MBOs, LBOs, venture capital, growth capital and structured equity transactions and arranged over US$1.5 billion in acquisition and related financing across a broad range of sectors. She is currently a board member at Tim Hortons Middle East and Gateway Delta Development Holdings (Africa) and has served on the boards of Panda Retail Company, Herfy, AlKabeer, Savola Foods Company, SMG, The Entertainer and Kudu. She has also served on audit and renumeration committees. She is also a member of the board of directors the Young Arab Leaders and the Middle East Investor Relations Association and a member of the advisory board of Global Ventures. Miss Al Lawati holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics (Honors) from Brown University.